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Hi Herm, As Kirk says, during the Vetter Callenge running, close following is forbidden, P&G , EOC and other hypermiling driving techniques are discouraged. There is a ride leader and a designated follower ( usually Craig) and the Vetter Challengers are to stay riding between them. If the designated follower passes a competitor , they are eliminated for going too slow. One could try them during the run but at the risk of being passed by Craig and eliminated. The rides are on public roads , usually with hills and windy areas and the pace is usually "spirited". That is why breaking 100mpg is so difficult in the Vetter Challenges.

Next steps; taller gearing and redo the tail section. My current tail is a bit small to hold the Vetter-mandated 4 bags of groceries so it's time to go all out before the May 4 Vetter Challenge in Carmel.

I just finished skinning my new tail section today. I used coroplast panels on the sides and plasticized sign papers for the rounded top. The coroplast is very easy to work with and pretty rigid in line with the tubes. I built my framework with 3/8" and 1/4" plywood bulkheads, light wood and sheetrock edging stringers. The coroplast is very light and provides additional stiffness to tailsection. The more I use coroplast the better I like it. The coroplast doesn't bend that well and is much better for straight panels. The sign paper is weather resistant, bends easily and is great for the curved portions of the structure. I used 1"x 3/4" wood lathe for some of the stringers as it is light , rigid, easy to attach with glue and screws. I also used some bamboo for x-bracing and just hot-glued it into place.
I tested the new tail today and it works great. The only modification I'll need to do is add another attachment from the tail structure to the MC frame as it has tipped downward slightly. I'll run another tank and see how much improvement there is with the new tail.

Charlie, I got pulled over once by the CHP but he was concerned because it was a windy day and he saw get pushed a little by a gust of wind. I think he was also curious about the bike as he asked lots of questuons and took some pictures. He looked the bike over, asked to see my license, registration and insurance and that was that. To my knowledge I meet all the applicable regulations for motrcycles in CA. I do get people driving alongside me, giving thumbs up and taking pictures and video . My bike gets more attention than a Ferrari.

So curious CHPs but no real problems.
Do you actually use the tail to carry stuff?
In the past I had a rear rack on my SR500's-I would mount a coke carrier on the rack and could carry 2 bags of groceries in it.
4 bags would be great-that tail looks big enough.

Hi Charlie,
I haven't carried groceries in this new tail yet but I plan to. I have often used the tail compartment in my Yamaha Vision and a few times in the previous tail on my Ninja 250. This new tail is huge and will have no problem meeting the 4 bags of groceries requirement to meet the Vetter Challenge. Some of the most interesting encounters I have with people intrigued by my streamlined motrocycles is when they see me loading bags of groceries into them. The ides you could put a week's worth of groceries into a motorcycle amazes them.

I took the Ninja for a good hard ride on Saturday on the local backroads to test the new tail and to test the accuracy of my odometer/tripmeter. The new tail worked great and seems to be very sturdy. My destination was a local motorcycle hangout ( the Livermore Junction ); the brothers and sisters there seemed to like the streamliner. I had some fun and found that my odometer under-reported distance traveled by 9.2 %.

Yesterday, I decided to go ahead and change to the smallest rear sprocket I had: GreenJoe's 33 tooth. I also lubed my swingarm and shock linkage, shimmed the cush drive and shortened my chain by 4 links. I rode the bike to Fremont on some errands and found that the taller gearing was manageable. It starts from a dead stop OK , accelerates at an acceptable pace and brings the rpms way down while cruising. Hills and headwinds now need quick downshifts to maintain speed and often need dropping down 2 gears at a time. We'll see how it goes.
I fueled up on the way home and got ..... 90 mpg !!!
I'm pleased with this and hope to keep the upward trend continuing.